Select Cuts: GHEIST

When We Dip sits down with Berlin-based foursome GHEIST this week to shine a spotlight on the exciting new project currently being brewed at Riverside Studio in the German. In addition to taking some Q&A action from the team, the crew have also put together an exclusive new mix. Enjoy!

WWD: Thanks for joining us! Tell us, where in the world are you right now?

It’s a pleasure. We are living in Berlin and that’s where we are right now working on new music.

WWD: For those not in the know. In your own words, how would you explain the GHEIST project? How do you blend the elements of a band and a dj?

GHEIST is a gathering of four guys. We’re friends now for many years and have been working together on different projects before. We all have different strengths and values to add and work very well side by side. We aim to combine the knowledge of live musicians, a DJ and producers in our music. When GHEIST is on stage there is always a live element in the performance. For now we are two piece with live vocals, vocal effects and other surprises that maintain the show diverse. But there will be shows of GHEIST playing live as four piece. In this constellation we have a lot of opportunities to create something special and unpredictable.

WWD: Your most recent EP came via Exploited. How did that relationship begin?

We’ve been handing out tracks of ours to different DJ-friends to play those when they are on tour. Some of them are signed to Exploited and one thing led to another. Exploited picked us up and we are very happy to keep on working with such a nice team for our upcoming releases.

WWD: Can you tell us about some of the music you have coming up?

It’s difficult to describe music or sound with words. What we can say for sure is that we always try to push it to the next level. We know that music is not about competing against someone else, it’s more about competing with yourself. It’s easy to reproduce the same thing over and over again but we are aiming for musical and personal growth. It’s not always working out but we won’t settle for less. We’ve been working for the last few month on new tracks and we are very happy to share it with you on our upcoming releases.

WWD: The project began at Riverside Studio, do you continue to create your productions there?

Yes that’s right when we started GHEIST we’ve already been at Riverside Studio, but we had a studio before that and we’ve already been working together. We’re not planing to move somewhere else in the future but you never know what happens next. What we can say for sure is that we love it there and that we are surrounded by many great musicians and friends. We spend every day in the studio creating something new. It’s like home to us.

WWD: Do you find that your surroundings have an impact on your creativity?

Definitely yes. We think that whatever or whoever you surround yourself with has an impact on your whole life and not only your creativity. In terms of music and our life Berlin seems for us the right choice. But our close surroundings, like our friends or other musicians are much more important. It feels right to live and work together with people who get you and mean well.

WWD: In your mind or your body is there a particular time for idea creation and another for technical sound design or do both go hand in hand?

Due to the fact that we’re four guys working on GHEIST both goes hand in hand. But the focus each one of us has in the process changes from time to time. This is something that is a strength of a bigger group working on music but can also be more difficult to handle. The good thing is we know each other for such a long time so we are quiet capable of dealing with it.

WWD: Berlin is a city of many studios. Are there any you have visited that you envy?

There are so many studios in Berlin and many of them deliver very good music. But there also lots of home studios with very creative brains behind. It’s hard to pick out one in particular. Even at Riverside Studio are so many different and great artists with beautiful studios and great sound. But I guess one of the most impressive ones belongs to Tobi Neumann. We’re often passing by for some sweets.

WWD: You’ve recorded a fresh mix for us this week. What will one find in there?

We hope you’ll find something you like, some that inspires you and there are also two unreleased tracks of GHEIST.